we're out of time. cnn newsroom with carol costello begins right now. good morning, carol. and good morning. thank you for joining us this morning. i'm carol costello. we begin this hour, of course, with the aftermath of superstorm sandi and full scope of devastation that's just now coming into view. these are new pictures just in to cnn minutes ago. the storm's death toll in the united states stands now at 40. new york police say 22 were killed in the city alone. check out this video from an nypd helicopter.

across the region, thousands of people had to be rescued from their flooded homes. many were chased to their rooftops to escape the rising waters. today, as national guard troops roll into overwhelmed towns and villages, normalcy seems so far out of reach. more than 6 million homes and businesses still without power. and many will be shivering bus they don't have heat either for days and days to come. we have a lot to cover this morning. let's begin by narrowing our focus. first stop, new jersey. some of the most jaw-dropping images are coming in from the jersey shore. the resort area that has entertained vacationing americans for generations, one iconic landmark, the atlantic city boardwalk, lost a big chunk due to crashing waves. governor chris christie says the damage to the state's beaches is, quote, overwhelming. today, governor christie will tour the devastation with president obama. the republican governor who has campaigned steadily for mitt romney raised eyebrows by

praising the president's response to this crisis. we'll take a look at the politics in play. but first, more importantly, we'll focus on the devastation, the damage along the jersey shore. michael holmes is in toms river. that's on the jersey shore. he joins us by phone. very hard to get a live shot out of there right now. michael, describe the jersey shore. what are you seeing? >> reporter: damage in barrier island. it's quite a sight, i can tell you. there's a mile-long queue of emergency vehicles, tractor trailers, four-wheel drive, heavy earth-moving equipment, buses loaded with rescue workers, fire truck, rescue truck, national guard is all here, all lined up on this side of the bridge waiting for the green light to head across and on to those barrier islands you've seen extraordinary pictures of. they're going to go over there, set up a command center and they're going to fan out and do what they can to help anyone who

is still there, who hasn't yet been rescued and to begin to assess the magnitude of what occurred there. barrier islands taking the brunt of sandy. we were there the day the storm arrived, got out before it hit. and already we could see the ocean waters coming through the sand dunes, crashing into places that normally 50 feet -- 50 yards away from the shore, from the ocean. it was quite extraordinary. you've seen the devastation once sandy passed over the coast. massive operation about to get under way here. these vehicles are all lined up, about to cross the bridge, go in there and make a concerted effort to see what is left of those barrier islands, holiday homes that you mentioned. >> we're looking at live pictures courtesy of our affiliate wabc. these pictures are taken from the air, obviously. they're helicopter shots. we've heard that some homes are literally buried in sand. are you seeing that? >> reporter: we've seen those

images, too. i was talking to the local police just about half an hour ago. the thing that happened, when they were bringing people up, those people who defied the mandatory evacuation order and decided to stay put, we actually interviewed a couple of people before we left who said they were going to ride it out. no big deal. they've seen these storms before. they hadn't seen anything like this. those people we talked to today being brought off the island terrified, huddled in the back of these 2 1/2 ton trucks, the only vehicles that could get across there at that point. even one of the police officers was telling us that this was a terrifying thing. he said that the dunes just broke apart and essentially the ocean ran across those homes. he said it went from three inches to a foot to three feet to five feet in a matter of just a few minutes. he said they actually had to move themselves multiple times as the water rose so they could get to higher ground.

the police officer i was talking to said he absolutely has never seen anything like it. >> i'm just looking at these pictures. and my jaw is dropping. it's just hard to even -- looking at the pictures, it's hard to comprehend them. michael holmes, i know you're trying to get a live shot up for us. i know how difficult it is. i'll let you go. hopefully, we can check back later with you, michael. michael holmes from toms river, new jersey. close to those barrier islands that, as you can see, have seen so much devastation. just like unbelievable pictures. and it doesn't look like there are any people there. that's a good thing. that means people are out of the danger zone, as well they should be. we'll continue. we're just getting these live pictures in from this helicopter. it's hard to step away. we want you just to see the scope of the devastation. governor chris christie will be touring some of this area with president obama today. and this is the sort of thing that the president will see firsthand. we have to put this in political terms. as you know, nowadays,

everything is. dan lothian is here in washington with me. and when will the president arrive in new jersey, dan? >> reporter: he will be taking off at 12:15 in washington, little less than an hour or so for the president to get to new jersey. it will be a quick trip. go on the ground, touring with governor christie, talking with some of the families who have been impacted there, who have lost their homes, some of whom may have lost some relatives or friends. also talking to first responders who the president has been saying now for the past couple of days, the critical role that they have played in rescuing folks and perhaps preventing even more of a catastrophe in some of these areas. that's what the president will be doing on the ground there today. in general what you're seeing from the white house is trying to show that the president is very much on top of the situation there, releasing

photographs of the president in the situation room, getting briefings. we heard overnight the president was getting updates on the recovery efforts and, in addition to that, that the president has -- will continue to get updates and briefings today as well. trying to show that the president is stay iing on top o this situation. but it's a big balance for the president because he is having to deal with these very real and gripping issues while at the same time focusing on the campaign. he has been off the campaign trail. we suspect that he'll head back out in the next day or so. a big balance for the president during this very difficult time. >> you're not kidding. dan lothian, stick around. we have to go to atlantic city right now. sandra endo has been there for days and days. she was in ocean city, made her way up to atlantic city. i understand people are still being rescued there. >> reporter: absolutely, carol. it's a rescue and recovery mode here in atlantic city. let me show you what people are seeing here.

this is a bay side community. we're on the waterfront. can you see there was a dock here. it's completely demolished. that's how hard and strong the force of the waves and the wind was. and to give you an idea, carol, the water came up to my neck in this area, in this neighborhood. and residents here were required to evacuate, actually. there was a mandatory evacuation here. this home, the people that lived here, they did not evacuate and they watched the storm hit their house the entire time. again, the water level came up to here. they said they saw the dock and the boats banging into their home. that is why you see all the devastation and destruction. you can see the window on the floor here, on the lawn. they have a lot of clean up to do, obviously. let me show you what caused that damage. at the end of the street here past the downed power lines and the uprooted trees, you can see a piece of the dock in one of

their neighbor's driveways basically. and at the end of the street, that is the houseboat, the tiny houseboat that collided into their home and banged into their home over and over. here is the homeowner right here. lisa, if we could talk to you real quick, lisa, about enduring the storm. you didn't heed the warnings. you did not evacuate. what was it like during the entire time? >> it was kind of intimidating, when they would come and talk about getting out and take your name to notify family members and everything. but it was just weird, surreal. a really, really bad storm. >> reporter: you saw the dock and houseboat hitting your house. >> yes. and sailboat. you know, it's weird because we have this great view or had this great room to view it. it would be like, george, come here, there's a sailboat, or

something. and he was trying -- >> we have our hearts and minds and prayers and thoughts with you and your community as you pick up the pieces. ovenl very devastating. people very tired, shaken up by everything they've been here the last few days, carol. >> sandra endo, reporting live from atlantic city, new jersey. new york city still struggling to return to normal as well. laguardia remains closed with water still covering the tarmac there. new york city's transportation system, that's another story. subway systems are still flooded. there is limited bus service. despite these problems, some things in new york city slowly getting back to normal. >> reporter: they're trying. they're trying, carol. traffic is starting to flow. mass transit is trying to pick up. this part of manhattan, south of 29th street.

some parts south of 39th street they're without power and maybe sore several days. substation that controls a big chunk of this island was flooded. it had protection for a 12-foot surge. that would have been historic. this was over a 13-foot surge, something they never planned for. con edison headquarters, spoke with the incident commander. here is what he had to say about the storm. >> basically it was a storm they couldn't prepare for. a hurricane on steroids. you've experienced hurricanes before. what's this one been like in

comparison? >> in comparison, it's been an experience of living in a stacked up building with many, many people with no lights and no way to get around the city. taxis are running now. when the subways are down, people are really stranded. you want to go uptown to shower or charge their phone. that's the reason i stopped here. i saw the charging station on the street. >> reporter: closely packed as new yorkers are, it almost makes it more limiting? >> everything is limited. just to get a cup of coffee, my neighbor had to walk all the way to 23rd street, i think, yeah. >> reporter: you have to walk how far to go to work? >> to 50th street. >> human resource director. she can't fire herself if she's late. she plugged her phone into our truck, carol. it's one bit of community service cnn is doing in the modern age, everyone needs their handheld device. you don't have power in your place, you have to go find some. >> actually, i hear countless

new yorkers are coming by satellite trucks and local tv live trucks and asking if they can plug in their cell phone or their computer. they're also gathering around starbucks, waiting to get in so they can charge up their devices. so they have some communication with the world. >> wi-fi connection. >> imagine sitting in your tiny apartment in new york city in the dark and just sitting there. oikt even imagine how horrible that would be. >> reporter: con ed is just down the street. and people are going saying let me plug in my phone. i'm a customer. what are they going to say, no? >> do what you've got to do. >> reporter: westchester county, as much as ten days plus before complete restoration. this will go down as the worst

storm power outage in new york city. >> that's a lot of lattes. you have to buy something when you plug in your device there. >> reporter: exactly. >> rob marciano, thank you very much. it has affected so many people in the northeast and in the midwest. could next week's election be next? we've got our pulse on the election. say it ain't so. [ female announcer ] a classic meatloaf recipe from stouffer's starts with ground beef, unions, and peppers

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we're just getting these pictures in from cnn. we want to share them with you now. this is from wabc. this is bay head, new jersey, right along the jersey shore. you heard chris christie describe it yesterday, the damage to the jersey shore is unthinkable, he said. it will appear nothing like it did before. the landscape is changed forever. these pictures in moonachie, new jersey, is that where this is? where are these pictures,

producers? okay. this is in moonachie, closer to new york city. you can see there were water residency could yous taking place. are these pictures from yesterday or this morning? these pictures are from yesterd yesterday. right now, moonachie is by little ferry, new jersey, just to make things clear. the water has now recede friday little ferry. in nearby moonachie, they're dealing with a fire. one house is on fire and firefighters are trying to contain that. we'll take you back there in a bit to get you updated. let's look ahead to next week. could this superstorm affect the election? for the states directly hit, there are still so many questions. will they have their voting sites up and rung on full power, or alternate locations? what about voters who lost everything, including their photo i.d.? joe johns from washington joining me now. if anyone knows these questions, you do. do you think the election will be postponed ?

what will happen in states like new jersey where many people are dealing with other things rather than worrying about getting to the polls? >> it's hard to say that an election like this will be postpone postponed. there are so many states in the united states that simply were not affected. and if you were to postpone for one state or two states, you would have what would be called an equal protection challenge and you could go to court and fight it. so, what's much more likely to happen, carol, is that the places that have problems -- we're talking about counties and specific precincts that have determined they have a problem. they'll do something to fix it, whether they'll move the polling place or there are some states that even have laws or rules where you can, you know, incrementally move the date or time, something along those lines. there are a lot of different options they can do. they'll try to determine where they have a specific problem precinct by precinct and address

that, carol. >> okay. here is the question for you. do states traditionally have paper billialballots available power goes down? >> state by state or county. massachusetts and connecticut, for example, they still use the old paper ballots that you punch and can be scanned optically. the state of virginia also use that technology. in pennsylvania, "the wall street journal" reporting that officials say counties should have enough paper ballots for 20% to 25% of expected voters because touch screen voting machines may be expected to run on battery power if they have to. it's a mixed bag. all the states have to reach out and find out what their needs are, carol. >> the most impacted states, of course, new jersey and new york are pretty much blue states. what if this happened in ohio? >> yeah, i know. but, you know and i know, carol, we both come from ohio. and we also know that people

there are pretty hardy and the weather has to get pretty darp bad before people say they've got a real problem. big picture, though. it's pretty clear that the state has emergency rules that govern natural disasters, the state needs to follow its own rule. new york has a rule that might be construed to say if you have an emergency affecting a threshold portion of the voting population in a particular area, you can extend the election one day at a time for up to 20 days or so. that's a rule they can lean on. and if anybody wants to take issue with that down the road they sort of take it up in the courts. >> that scares me the most. >> i know. >> can you imagine? i don't even want to imagine that. joe johns, thank you so much. for the presidential candidates, the election seems to have taken a backseat to storm recovery. there's a reason why. we'll talk about the delegates' strategy involved in disaster politics.

your chance to talk back. will sandy change the election? who could play politics when so many have lost so much? governor chris christie, exhausted and relentlessly nonpartisan, today he will tour his state with president obama, a president he has praised for his administration's storm response. this is what he had to say to piers morgan. >> this is so much bigger than an election. this is the livelihood of the people of my state. what they expect me to do is get the job done. when someone asks me an honest question, i give an honest answer. how has the president been to deal with? he has been outstanding to deal with on this. i look forward to seeing him tomorrow. >> this is the same man who questioned the president's leadership at the republican national convention. >> we need politicians to care more about doing something and less about being something. it is time to end this era of absentee leadership in the oval office and send real leaders back to the white house.

america needs mitt romney and paul ryan! and we need them right now. >> political analysts are confused. romney surrogate, fox and friends, tried to get christie to dial it back. >> is there any possibility that governor romney may go to new jersey to tour some of the damage with you? >> i have no idea, nor am i the least bit concerned or interested. i've got a job to do here in new jersey. it's much bigger than presidential politics and i could care less about any of that stuff. i have a job to do. i've got 2.4 million people out of power. i've got devastation on the shore. i've got floods in the northern part of my state. if you think right now i give a damn about presidential politics, then you don't know me. >> talk about a smackdown. yet despite christie -- some can't help but wonder will christie's newfound love for president obama tilt the election obama's way? talkback question for you, will

sandy change the election? facebook.com/carolcnn. your responses later this hour. hundreds are rescued in a northern new jersey town. we'll tell you how the city plans to rescue others who are still stranded today. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] don't just reject convention. drown it out. introducing the all-new 2013 lexus ls f sport. an entirely new pursuit.

we are seconds away from the opening bell at the new york stock exchange. the damage from superstorm sandy forced it to close for the past two days. new york mayor michael bloomberg is at the stock exchange today. he will ring the opening bell. alison kosik is there to witness the whole thing. i see mayor bloomberg there. hello, alison. >> hi, carol. mayor bloomberg is up on the po podium, ringing the bell. ceo of the new york stock exchange, so is larry

lieberwits, who happens to be jon stewart's brother, they are up there, getting ready to ring the bell. everybody holding their breath here. after the devastation of hurricane sandy, two days of the markets being closed, this is the opening bell that's telling the world, carol, that new york is open for business. carol? >> and that can only mean good things for all of us in our economy, of course. alison kosik. alison can't hear me. sorry, we're having technical difficulties there. you got the gist. we're taking a closer look at the aftermath of superstorm sandy and the full scope of the devastation that's just now coming into view. these are new pictures that just fed into cnn moments ago. the storm's death toll just in the united states stands at 40. new york police say 22 people died in the city alone. take a look at this video from an nypd helicopter. across the region thousands of people had to be rescued from their flooded homes. many were chased to their

rooftops to escape the rising waters. and today, as national guards troops roll into overwhelmed towns and villages, people are ask i asking when will things ever get back to normal? it seems so far out of reach right now. more than 6 million homes and businesses still without power. and many of those people who live along the northeastern corridor will be shivering because, you know, without electricity that means they don't have heat either. and they won't have heat for days and days to come. the storm could also have a political impact. don't you know it? paul ryan getting ready to campaign in his home state of wisconsin. this is a live look at his event in eau claire. he will visit green bay and racine. as you know it's a toss-up state with a recent poll showing president obama has an advantage. meantime, vice president biden and mitt romney are in florida. not together, separately. romney's first in tampa, then coral gables and jacksonville. biden will be rallying in

sarasota and later in ocala. president obama will stay off the campaign trail for another day. he will, instead, tour storm damage in new jersey. mitt romney is campaigning, but sensitively. it's less than a week before the election. how do candidates balance politics in the face of disaster? during a natural disaster. joining us now is thomas whalen, history professor at boston university, also offering commentary on the current campaign. thank you so much for being with us, thomas. >> my pleasure. >> there is a real danger p in how a president handles a natural disaster because it can sink a presidency, right? >> it could, potentially. what you're really talking about here is the political narrative people have about a particular candidate or president. a natural disaster, at least how presidents respond to them basically can reinforce or under d undermine that narrative. in the case of george w. bush in 2006 with hurricane katrina, he campaigned as basically a

compassionate conservative. but his actions during the whole katrina mess proved that he was otherwise. >> because you have that lasting image of president bush and when he said that thing about his fema director, way to go, brownie, or whatever he said. that sticks in people's minds to this day. >> right. that would be a defining sound bite of his entire presidency. granted, it's unfair, but that's what sticks in people's minds. >> in your mind, has president obama made the right move, wrong move? what do you think? >> i think he has made the appropriate move here. he hasn't been too over. that's the key here. you can't be overtly political in how you respond to these kinds of disasters. he obviously will accrue some benefits because he's acting aas commanders in chief are supposed to act and help people on a broad basis. as the remarks of governor christie of new jersey proved, this is a -- he gets bipartisan

support out of this disaster. that has to help the bottom line come election day. >> of course, he hasn't been -- president obama wanted to fit in one last campaign paerps in florida, then hurriedly flew back because he realized he couldn't make it back to washington because the storm was coming. so he hasn't acted perfectly along this path, right? >> well, that's true. he has a number of surrogates and i understand bill clinton will be picking up a number of campaign appearances on the campaign trail. so that is going to help matters. president obama can say, well, i'm president. and, you know, this takes priority over politics. and i think that will basically sit well with voters. >> let's talk about mitt romney. he decided to turn a campaign event in ohio into a relief effort. collecting food and collecting goods to send to the people who have been affected by superstorm sandy. good, bad, what?

>> i think it was a very smart political move. again, you don't want to come off too overtly political. i think that was just the right measured response to the disaster. and i think if he went to -- you know, on a media tour of the disaster site that would seem too opportunistic, almost politically desperate. i think he made the right call there. >> the only thing is that reporters at the end of this event were shouting at him, asking him if he supported fema, if fema should disappear. governor romney didn't answer their questions. why do you suppose that was? >> because he knows that that is a potential pitfall for his candidacy, very much like his comments on the auto bailout in detroit. it's a no-win swigs for him. that might prove a critical difference come election day. >> thomas whalen, thank you for sharing your insights. we appreciate it. >> my pleasure. atlantic city was one of the hardest areas hit. we'll talk to the city's mayor

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as you know, atlantic city was hit hard by superstorm sandy. we have atlantic city's mayor on the phone right now, lorenzo langford. welcome, mayor langford. >> good morning. how are you? >> i'm good. i know you must be exhausted right now but i wee want to ask you about search and rescue in atlantic city. >> sure. >> are re cues over yet? >> there is no time to be exhausted. the search and rescue is for the most part over. water has receded for the most part. streets are passable. there is debris and litter

strewn across the street. some uprooted trees and downed utility wires make it pretty difficult for passage in some areas. for the most part, we can get around. at this point, our primary concern is trying to get power reconnected so that we can get those residents who have been displaced back into their humble abodes. >> any estimate about when power might be restored? >> we have no idea. as we speak, crews are out and about in atlantic city from our power company, doing what they do. and i give them a lot of credit as well as our public works and emergency personnel crew. they're all doing due diligence, trying to get this thing up and going. >> as you tour your city, sir, do you have any idea of the damage estimate? >> no. it would be premature to try to make that assessment at this time. i expect some time later, more closely to tomorrow, we'll start

to get some numbers with respect to the extent of the property damage. >> i would like to ask you about what governor chris christie has said about your efforts in atlantic city. he wasn't so happy with the actions that you took presandy. this is what he said on "early start." let's listen. >> i signed an order, ordering the evacuation of atlantic city. the mayor was sending a mixed message. he told folks that they could shelter as a last resort in the city of atlantic city. a number of people chose to do so. that was the wrong thing to do. i ordered the evacuation. and now we're in the midst of doing urban search and rescue. >> so, mr. mayor, can you address that? >> i sure can. the governor is dead wrong. it's the governor who has spewing mix ed message. first was i countermanded his order. the order came through the state to the county and municipality that we are to make every effort to get every resident out of the

city of atlantic city. we did a press release. we posted it on the city's website and had two press conferences on saturday and sunday, urging residents to flee the island. first the governor says i countermanded his order saying that residents should say. now he has backpedalled and said i have sent mixed messages. someone has given him the wrong information and the governor is dead wrong. and he needs to admit it. >> this isn't the first time you two have got nooen a political spat, is it? >> it is not. that may speak to what he said what he has said. i'm not focused on that. it's not important. i am committed to making sure we do the very best that we can to provide our residents with a level of safety that is sufficient. i assume that the governor is on the same page. this is not a time for politics.

i'm not focused on that. i'm concerned about the residents of atlantic city. that's where my priority is. >> chris christie and president obama will be touring atlantic city later this afternoon. will you be with them? >> yes, i will. >> and i would suspect that all will be in cooperation and agreement in helping one another. >> well, i would expect that, too. and i think that at this point that whole situation is something that should be relegated to the past. it's time to move forward. >> mayor langford, thank you so much for talking with us this morning. >> you're welcome. god bless. >> we appreciate it. mitt romney and 100 of his closest friends could be coming to a city near you. we're learning about a last-minute blitz from republicans to try to win your vote. a taste of what's hot? check out the latest collection of snacks from lean cuisine. creamy spinach artichoke dip, crispy garlic chicken spring rolls. they're this season's must-have accessory. lean cuisine. be culinary chic.

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perhaps the worst devastation happened on the b r barrier islands of new jersey. michael holmes is in toms river. describe the scene for us, michael. >> reporter: yeah, carol, good morning. we're just on the west side of the bridge, the bridge just behind me. it's a bit of a deserted road right now. not so a few minutes ago when probably a mile-long convoy of emergency vehicles went across. they're going to go over there, set up a staging area and then fan out across those devastated islands. this is the new jersey office of emergency management. they're the ones running it. we saw tractor trailers, front end loaders, busload of personnel being taken over. and what they're going to do over there is quite staggering, what they'll deal with. literally the ocean just washed across those barrier islands, devastating those holiday homes, iconic locations for so many people who go there on vacation

every summer. we were over there the day before. in fact, the day that sandy hit, we got out before it hit. already you could see the dunes starting to break down. we spoke with locals then who said they were going to ride it out. they regret that, i can tell you. yesterday we were back in this very spot, as people were brought over on big two-ton trucks. it was the only way to get in and out yesterday. rescues -- still rescues ongoing, by the way. there are still people in their houses who need assistance and they're being dealt with right now. talking to the police chief here about half an hour ago who said it's going to take a long, long time to sort things out over there about a mile or two behind me. carol? >> i would assume there's no electricity there so these poor people trapped in their homes, how are they communicating that they actually need help? how are rescue workers finding them? >> yeah. it is a big problem because by now cell phone batteries will be

drained. there is no power. some people who live over there do have generators. are those generators dry and operable? it's pretty much a house-to-house thing. people are going over there, having to check out each house one at a time. blackhawk helicopter flying over from the national guard as i speak. there are electricity trucks, gas truck went over as well. one of the problems that they had over there was gas leaks. and some houses were actually on fire. so that's another problem that they're having to deal with. one big fire truck went over as well. probably to deal with that, one would imagine. a very fluid situation and a very desperate situation. if you've been there after all this time without assistance, you're going to be in quite dire straits. yesterday some of those who were brought back over were quite elderly. they obviously had nowhere to go before the storm and decided to stay put. and they certainly regretted it, too. a couple of them we saw taken off and put into ambulances to be taken off for treatment. carol? >> all right.

michael holmes, giving us an update from toms river, new jersey. we'll be right back with much more after this. [ male announcer ] with 160 more miles per tank, the distances aren't getting shorter. ♪ the trucks are going farther. the new 2013 ram 1500. ♪ with the best-in-class fuel economy. engineered to move heaven and earth. ♪ guts. glory. ram.

all right. a bit of political news just in to cnn. as you know, president obama will travel to new jersey to tour the state with the republican governor there and back on the campaign trail according to one of his aides, telling cnn that the president back on the campaign trail on thursday. to put that in to some sort of context from you and this is from political editor paul steinhauser, the wisconsin event on thursday has been in the works for a few days and a preplanned event and as you know obama surrogates have been on the campaign trail, campaigning for the president in the last several days. so let's talk about mitt romney

now. because he's getting an incredible show of force. he and 100 of his most prominent surrogates fanning across the swing states and eight others. take a look at the lineup. former secretary of state rice, governor jindal, senator rubio and senator john mccain on the stump for romney at the same time. john avalon is in the battleground state of ohio. so john, it's a cavalcade of republican stars. will it help romney? >> they hope so, carol. i mean, this is sort of that last-minute stampede. the romney camp taking the major surrogates in the swing states and that's what they should be doing. this is a game of inches, a war of attrition and the swing states every vote could matter. they put out everything they got. there are six days left in the election. you don't leave anything in the locker room. >> ohio voters, do they have sandy on their minds at all?

>> well, there's definitely been bad weather as you may be able to tell throughout ohio all the of sandy and the storm is very dissipated. we have gone to the election polling places open for early election and still packed. no sign of a falloff on that because of the weather. the debates about the economy. the campaign having a tussle right now over chrysler and gm. when biden and clinton koim to youngstown they slammed mitt romney for ads calling this claim that they were moving plants and jobs overseas on production within of the most cynical political moves he has seen and raw here in the final weeks. every voting counting, the economy issue number one here in ohio. >> not often you hear like a big business speak out about a republican ad but i guess that makes gm look bad, too, right? >> no. yeah. but very unusual. they tried to stay out of it and

very unusual for spokesman to unload that kind of harsh language against the romney campaign in this particular ad. >> john avalon from youngstown, ohio. today's talk back question. will sandy change the election? facebook.com/carolcnn. [ female announcer ] ready for a taste of what's hot? check out the latest collection of snacks from lean cuisine. creamy spinach artichoke dip, crispy garlic chicken spring rolls. they're this season's must-have accessory. lean cuisine. be culinary chic.

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simple and not so simple. would superstorm sandy change the election? theresa says i would hope so. leave no one behind? he left four to die in benghazi. nope, obama will win hands down. vote obama and let's keep this country moving forward. wow. this from sky. i don't know that people will have time to vote. they're busy getting their lives back together. they need transportation. their vehicles are flooded. please keep the conversation going. facebook.com/carolcnn. thanks as always for your comments. next hour of "cnn newsroom" starts right now. and good morning. thank you so much for being with us. we begin this hour with the aftermath of superstar sandy and the full scope of devastation. new pictures in to cnn just

about an hour ago. the storm's death toll just in the united states stands at 40. new york city police say 22 people died just within the city. and take a look at these pictures from an nypd helicopter. across the region thousands of people rescued from the flooded homes. many chased to the roof tops to escape the rising waters and today as national guard troops rolls in to overwhelmed towns and villages, normalcy seems so far out of reach. more than 6 million homes and businesses still without power and many people shivering because they don't have heat either and they won't for days to come. too early to know the total cost of the property damage and the business that's been lost. one estimate of the insurance industry puts the figure at $10 billion to $20 billion. in just a few hours president obama will join new jersey governor christie for a tour of new jersey, an emotional trip of yesterday visiting the hard-hit

jersey shore. he is a promising surrogate for mitt romney, a supporter of mitt romney and raised eyebrows praising the president's quick response to the storm. here's what the governor said on cnn's "starting point." >> right now i'm much more concerned of preventing loss of life and safe places and then the election. the election will take care of itself. i spoke to the president three times yesterday. he's been incredibly supportive and helpful to the state and not once did he bring up the election. >> dan lothian is at the white house. dan, christie says obama didn't bring up the election to him but he goes back on the campaign trail on thursday. >> reporter: he is. and as you know, counting today, the president will have been off the campaign trail for three days, has been focusing on the disaster in new jersey and new york. but a campaign official telling cnn in fact the president will resume campaigning tomorrow. as you know, the campaign not put on hold. just that the president stayed

back here in washington to monitor the situation. former president bill clinton and vice president out there campaigning but tomorrow the president hits the trail with stops in wisconsin, colorado and las vegas, nevada. these are some of the city that is had initially been planned for the president to visit but then again, you know, the whole schedule put on hold so the president will be resuming campaigning starting tomorrow. >> all right. dan lothian reporting live from washington this morning. with six days until election day, voting, well, it could be a problem for people affected by superstorm sandy. for the states directly hit, there's so many questions. will they have their voting places on power or alternate locations? what about the voters that lost everything including photo i.d.s? joining me now is joe johns from washington. joe, how could a voter vote if he or she lost everything to sandy? we're having some technical problems with joe johns. we'll get to joe johns when we

get the technical issues worked out and talk about elections and whether people will vote and whether the election will be put on hold. do we have joe? no. okay. we'll move on. just about 30 minutes ago stock markets reopened for the first time since the superstorm hit. new york mayor michael bloomberg rang the opening bell just a short time ago. alison kosik at the new york stock exchange watching it all but as far as we know things are up and running as usual on the stock market. we'll have to go to break. we'll be back with more right after this. oh...there you go. wooohooo....hahaahahaha! i'm gonna stand up to her! no you're not. i know. you know ronny folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico sure are happy. how happy are they jimmy? happier than a witch in a broom factory.

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to treat allergy symptoms, plus sinus congestion, and pain. with odor free aspercreme. powerful medicine relieves pain fast, with no odor. so all you notice is relief. aspercreme. okay. we are asking so many questions until technical problems got the best of us but now the technical problems have been worked out and joe johns can hear me again. he is in washington. so let's talk about voting and those voters in states like new jersey who have lost everything to sandy. will they be able to vote? >> reporter: well, it depends. right now, these different states are trying to figure out what they're going to do. whether, number one, they can get the infrastructure in place to have the voting at the appointed time at the appointed place or, for example, are they

going to have to move voting somewhere else or what do they do? do they extend hours? there are a whole range of options that the governors of these states can use to try to get everybody through the polls. and even if that doesn't work they can always try to move things around and change dates and so on, carol. >> okay. so do they have paper ballots on hand? because most people don't vote on paper anymore. >> reporter: it's totally state by state. it can also be county by county. for example, massachusetts and connecticut use the old paper ballots already. that can be scanned optically. some parts of the state of virginia use that technology. in pennsylvania, the "wall street journal" reporting today that officials have been telling counties to have enough paper ballots for 20% to 25% of the expected voters. some of the touchscreen machines there might have to go on battery power so it's a mixed

bag. all of the state haves to reach out to the counties, to the precincts to determine the problems and closer to election day. >> but if you had to lay bets, everything will go as normal on election day and we shouldn't worry? >> reporter: well, na-ha. i wouldn't bet but i can tell you there's a potential here for a lot of different problems and the states are just going to have to handle these things case by case. and sometimes it really comes down to the individual polling place and does that polling place work or not? do they have electricity for the machines or not? there are also laws in place, i think i have to say, if a state runs in to real trouble, some state haves the ability to actually move the election day a day or two. and other than that, though, as we all know, congress sets the federal election day and there are some caveats to that. >> okay. joe, wish you would have taken that bet.

>> reporter: yeah right. >> i could have used a free beer. >> reporter: i know. >> yeah. with all the damage left behind from superstorm sandy, of course it takes a very long time for things to get back to normal. over 36 hours, the city has been getting a good look at the destruction. governor cuomo is touring some of the hardest hit areas in lower manhattan like a tunnel that connects manhattan to brooklyn and flooded. rob marciano joins us now. i have a hard time imagining the water in the subway tunnels. >> reporter: yeah. trying to get it pumped out and one of many issues here in manhattan. you know, "the new york post" known for the snarky headlines, just despair today. you know when they're not making wisecracks you know it's a serious situation so this city trying to get back on its feet after being shocked and now the recovery an trying to get life back in order as normal as it can be but south of 30th street

for the most part all is in the dark or powerless and going to continue. at least two to four days here for complete power restoration. going out in to the outer lying areas or boroughs and maybe as many as ten days to be completely power restored. want to bring in a woman who lives right by, susan mitchell, her dog duke. you live on the 16th floor. no electricity. no elevator. you have to walk the dog. how are you holding up? >> with a lot of courage. basically, have to plan the walks very carefully. i mean, i walk up -- this is 15 minus 13th floor, quite effectively. who knows how long i can keep being able to do that? >> reporter: you told me you got water up there and going through it pretty quickly. >> it is amazing. by the time you brush your teeth and wash a few dishes and keep

the water bowl of the dog full and, well, you can boil water. the gas stove goes on with a match. but then you have to wash the dishes so, you know, i'm through a gallon and a half and just over a day now so -- >> reporter: it's a matter of survival but you run your business out of your apartment so pretty much business is shut down for you now. >> yes. my blackberry works intermittently and getting e-mails of clients expecting documents and answers and i'm afraid they're out of luck until i get uptown to a library or somewhere and use their computer but my computer and internet connection are dead. >> reporter: your phone is charging in our truck and you can grab that and thank you very much, susan. >> thank you. >> reporter: one of many new yorkers surviving and postponing business and work until the infrastructure is back online. who knows how many millions of dollars this storm is going to cost just in the lack of

productivity because of that? we are doing a huge public service here, carol. there's a huge crowd around the truck getting the cell phones charged. one viewer at a time here in lower manhattan. >> whatever it takes. thank you, rob. you heard susan say it. shown just how dependent we are on the technology. many people are without power in new york. just heard. they're looking for a place to charge their cell phones and they found the cnn satellite truck. local television stations are providing, you know, electrical outlets to recharge and also people gathering at starbucks and other businesses across new york city asking them to use their electrical outlets to at least be online for a little bit to connect to the outside world so as rob said, any little bit of help to offer, we will. just about 30 minutes ago, stock markets reopened for the first time since the superstorm hit. new york mayor bloomberg rang the opening bell and that's

where we find alison kosik. good morning, alison. >> good morning, carol. backup generator is keeping the lights on here at the new york stock exchange. keeping some of the computers running. you have to remember lower manhattan where the new york stock exchange is, it is the hardest part of the city. it is completely blackout here and a generator keeping the lights on. the floor is bustling more than so than usual. not a lot of trading here on the floor because there isn't really much internet access. no land line service and a lot of trades apparently going through the electronic system so the reality is the market's open, working. people are placing orders. the trades are going through. here's the trades kind of telling a story. lowe's and home depot, they're jumping. some of the biggest gainers on the dow. insurers are selling off. the expectation is number of claims of hurricane sandy piling up and then there's the thought of the rebuilding process and

there you go with lowe's and home depot doing pretty well on the market. carol? >> all right. alison kosik live from the new york stock exchange. through the devastation, there are these incredible stories of survival like the new york hospital that lost power supposed to evacuate critical patients and the tiniest patients. we look inside the effort to save the newborn babies. stomers. i plugged in snapshot, and 30 days later, i was saving big on car insurance. with snapshot, i knew what i could save before i switched to progressive. the better i drive, the more i save. i wish our company had something this cool. you're not filming this, are you? aw! camera shy. snapshot from progressive. test-drive snapshot before you switch. visit progressive.com today.

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moonachie, new jersey, trying to recover. surge overtopped a levee. jean is the chief of staff. she joins me now from new jersey. jean, welcome. >> good morning. >> good morning. you know, i was talking to you about this time yesterday and you had no idea where this water was coming from. how have thinged changed for you today? >> things are looking better today, especially with daylight here. we're able to do our search and rescue again and in conjunction with the national guard. right now. and they've been terrific along with the new jersey state troopers. we're evaluating the situation and we're seeing if houses are

safe to get back in to. what the situation is and getting power back to residents. >> are some residents trapped in their homes or do you feel you have everyone out safely now? >> we're not write sure so we're going house by house still with the help of the national guard and we have national guard here from virginia today. so we're going house to house evaluating the streets. the homes. making sure everybody that needs to get out of there is out of there. it's starting to get cold out. >> you're not kidding. it's going to be so miserable. from what you have seen of the damage, are most houses saveable? >> we're not sure and we don't think they are. some of these houses saw seven feet of water inside of them. so they're going to have some severe damage. maybe a long time before the residents can get back in to them. >> just tell us a little bit about this levee. the water simply overtopped the levee, it wasn't impaired in any

way? >> that's what we believe. we believe the water breached the levee. we don't think there was a levee failure. we'll get engineers out there, a helicopter in the air to take a look and see exactly what happened with the levee. the priority yesterday was the safety of the residents. but we'll take a look at it. it was one of those perfect storms. it's never happened before. in that area like that. and with the astronomical tides and the surge of water, this is what happened. >> yeah. jean, thanks so much, chief of staff for bergen county, new jersey. thank you for taking time out of your day to be with us. superstorm sandy was scary enough but what would you do if you had a baby in new york, little baby was in the hospital because it was premature, needed intensive care and the power simply goes out. chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta has that story. >> reporter: monday night. this baby, 13-day-old baby

martinez, a premie weighing just 2 pounds needed to be urgently transported. from nyu hospital to mt. sinai hospital. challenging under any circumstances and these were extraordinary. >> it's frightening. about as challenging as you can get. >> reporter: we're in front of nyu medical center. mt. sinai is that way and to the west an enthat's the important point. just over there is the east river. what we now know is 7:00 p.m. there was no water inside that hospital. at 7:45, there was 10 feet. the power started to go out and then the generator failed and all of a sudden the patients and the doctors found themselves in a worst-case scenario. as for the parents of little baby martinez, they found out the hospital and their daughter would be evacuated when they watched mayor michael bloomberg on tv. shortly after, they lost power and they had no idea where their

baby would be taken. >> i lost outage in my apartment. we had no access to the tv, no access to internet. no phone services at home. it was just our cell. >> reporter: just imagine the desperation, the nightmare. their 13-day-old baby rushed through the streets of new york city in the middle of hurricane sandy while they were stuck at home in new jersey. >> all the bridges were closed and we had no choice but to go back home and just sit and wait for today to get here and it was a very long night. very, very, very long night. i haven't had not even one hour of sleep. >> reporter: dr. kenneth davis who we met earlier is the man that okayed the transfer and now for the first time he'll meet the baby he helped save. >> you need a hug. oh my goodness. >> thank you so very much. >> it is so hard. you're dad? >> yes. >> wow. it's going to be okay. you have any names picked snout. >> her name is emma sophia.

>> oh, dr. sanjay gupta joins us now. that was one amazing story. >> yeah. >> you know, as a doctor, tell us about the dangers of transporting critically ill patients that far. >> well, and i don't know if you caught this, carol, she weighed just 2 pounds so premature baby and simply transporting a child like that even within the hospital from one floor to the next is something requires a lot of coordination and people put in place, managing the breathing tube, the various lines, keeping the baby stable. this is obviously a very different situation, going outside. doing all that. i had never seen anything quite like that. they didn't have the time but she's doing great and they had other babies, as well, transported. she was the smallest we saw but they all did well and it works but it was a harrowing situation. >> harrowing, too, because the hospital's 15 stories, right?

elevators were not working. you have to transport critically ill patients down the stairs and probably in darkness. >> in darkness and also some of these patients like the baby who you just met they have to keep breathing for them, as well. so you're literally -- you have their lives in your hands. if you stop squeezing the bag, they breathe very quickly and not getting the air and ventilating well enough. there's a lot of parts to that. it is quite extraordinary. i remember seeing things like this in hurricane katrina but that type of evacuation you're describing it was, you know, really remarkable. >> absolutely. and just a last question. is nyu open for business now? >> my understanding is they're not. i'm speaking to the people over there. they took on, you know, ten feet of water in 45 minutes. they had evacuated some of the patients ahead of time. the vast majority of them as you saw during that time frame monday night so i think it's going to be some time but they keep saying and they have told

me late last night that they plan on opening as soon as possible, maybe even this week. >> i hope so. dr. sanjay gupta, thanks for sharing. we appreciate it. >> got it. thank you. the storm, the storm over fema funding. mitt romney facing pressure of comments about the government program. a state hit hard by sandy clamor for what? fema relief.

sounds like this morning the death toll rising from superstorm sandy. 40 people confirmed dead in the united states. new york city police department says 22 of those deaths happened

in the city. at last count, more than 6 million homes and businesses still without power. many of the people scattered across 17 states. they could face several days without heat. it's too early to know the cost of the property damage and the business lost. one estimate of the insurance industry puts that figure at $10 billion to $20 billion. now to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. will sandy change the election? talk about crash. who can play politics with so many lost so much? not new jersey's republican governor chris christie. exhausted and nonpartisan, he'll tour the state with president obama. a political enemy who he's repeatedly praised for his administration's storm response. here's what christie said of

president obama on "piers morgan." >> this is so much bigger than an election. this is the livelihood of the people of my state. what they expect me to do is get the job done and when someone asks me an honest question, i'll give an honest question. how's the president to deal with on this? he's been excellent to deal with and i look forward to him tomorrow. >> he question it is president's leadership at the republican national convention. >> we need politicians that care more about doing something and less about being something. it is time to end this era of absentee leadership in the oval office and send real leaders back to the white house. america needs mitt romney and paul ryan and we need them right now. >> political analysts are confused. romney surrogate "fox & friends" tried to get him to dial back. >> is there any possibility that governor romney goes to new jersey to tour the damage with you? >> i have no idea nor am i least bit concerned or interested.

>> right. >> i have a job to do here in new jersey much bigger than presidential politics and i could care less of that. i have 2.4 million people out of power. i've got devastation on the shore. i've got floods in the morn part of my state f. you think right now i give a damn about presidential politics then you don't know me. >> quite the smackdown but political types just can't help but wonder, will the newfound love for president obama tilt the election obama's way? "talk back" question for you. will sandy change the election? facebook.com/carolcnn. your comments later this hour. they stood the test of time but these trees were no match for sandy. show you next. questions? anyone have occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating? yeah. one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues

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it is 30 minutes past the hour. i'm carol costello. thank you so much for being with me today. the fight over fema. no mistaking it. new jersey's republican governor praised fema. chris christie is more than ready for federal help for homeowners and cleanup and most recently with the restoration of electricity. fema is the liaison of states in need and the utility companies. republican mitt romney hasn't exactly praised fema. during a primary debate, he intimated fema should go. >> fema's about to run out of money and people say do it on a case by case basis or learning a lesson for the states to take on this role. how do you deal with that? >> absolutely. every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that's the right direction. and if you can go further and send it back to the private sector, that's even better.

>> so yesterday reporters pounced. they pounced at a campaign/relief effort for the victims of sandy. the question posed to romney, would you eliminate fema? >> governor, what should fema's role be? >> governor, would you eliminate fema if you were president? >> governor, you've been asked 14 times what you would do with fema. what is your response? >> late yesterday, the romney campaign said fema has a role to play in disaster relief but didn't go further than that. let's talk about fema and the candidates. maria cardona is a contributor. ron bonjean is a strategist. good morning to both of you. >> good morning, carol. >> good morning. ron, let's start with you. are you clear with where romney stands on fema? >> yes. mitt romney said in the past he thinks that there should be a greater role for the states and

private sector and i'll tell you what. i think it's smart not to talk about fema right now because you're in the middle of a nature disaster, a hurricane destroyed millions of peoples lives. >> wait a minute. isn't that the best -- >> would not be a good idea. >> isn't that the best time? >> fema administrator craig fugate is doing a great job but much more of a long term discussion that if he's president or when he's president then he can have and to get in the middle of it right now in a natural disaster, let fema do the job and then look at the record and look at and see where mistakes are made and where it can be improved and i guarantee you that the states and the private sector could help with and have a better role in this management. >> maria, he has a point. fema can be, shall we say, inefficient. can we forget the survivors of

hurricane katrina and the states know what they need best. why not send the fema duties to the states and private industries? >> here's the issue of what romney said or didn't say and ron's right that romney is smart not answering the question because he has no answer, carol, and as i predicted on your program on monday his comments in the primary are coming back to haunt him which i guess is appropriate since today is halloween and the fact that even the spokesperson said that, you know, yes, there is a role for fema but it should be focused on the states. guess what. that's what fema is doing now. they are taking their lead from the states. just ask chris christie how that's working out. he has huge praise and this goes further in terms of the problem for mitt romney and paul ryan. look at what paul ryan's budget does to the quote/unquote state aid where romney wants fema placed. ryan's budget cut state aid by

22% and means in fact an over 60% cut to disaster aid when it comes to the states. so again, their mask, their comments do not add up. >> so ron, if mitt romney did answer those 14 questions about fema, and he said something positive about fema, wouldn't then republicans have to admit that sometimes government is good? >> well, i don't think it's bad to necessarily praise fema in the middle of a natural disaster if they deserve it. during hurricane katrina, obviously, they didn't. it's a great number of mistakes but mitt romney talking about fema then that's the campaign message in the last few days before the election. i think he'd rather be talking about the economy and rather to does ed kused on the states to shore up. that would be leading national news. it's smart for just us to be talking about it right now but not smart for him to be going in to that conversation and about paul ryan's budget, paul ryan did not advocate cutting fema in

the 2011 budget according to the mitt romney campaign. just as a fact check that. >> look at the reports, though. he cut state aid, ron, and that's where fema would be and -- >> i'm just saying that the record states it very clearly. >> well -- >> and not like paul ryan's a big fema supporter. >> exactly. >> president obama right now is meeting with fema. i'm going to let you button it up, maria, for fairness sake. button it up quickly for me going to break. >> this magnifies the difference between the visions of these two candidates, carol, and that's whether you want a streamlined, mean, efficient government that can work for the people as opposed to a candidate in mitt romney who clearly doesn't know how to handle or manage government and so in his eyes we should just eliminate it. that is, i think, the choice that voters are facing this november.

between a candidate who understands how to help middle class, how to help storm survivors with the kind of aid that fema does give by helping through the safe versus the candidate to give it to the private sector. >> okay. i have to wrap it up. thank you so much for the interesting discussion this morning. we'll be right back. syou know, i've helped a lot off people save a lot of money. but today...( sfx: loud noise of large metal object hitting the ground) things have been a little strange. (sfx: sound of piano smashing) roadrunner: meep meep. meep meep? (sfx: loud thud sound) what a strange place. geico®. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

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superstorm sandy wiped out homes, entire neighborhoods in the path. toms river, new jersey, knows that too well. the coastal storm with stood the fury of the storm and then rising misery. cnn's michael holmes has more for you. >> reporter: in the distance on a flooded side street one of the dozens of rescues unfolds. an elderly couple, the water rising in their home.

needing urgent help. this is toms river, new jersey, population 95,000 and like much of this coastline battered by hurricane sandy. the main problem, not wind but water. trapping many people in their homes. >> frustration is not being able to get to these people who are obviously in harm's way. >> reporter: police chief masternati lived here all his life and never seen anything like this. >> reporter: this is the worst that i have seen. >> reporter: all day and in to the night the winds howled and the waters rose. it was the water that was the real problem. up to five feet in some streets. this relieved man rescued from his stranded car by a front end loader. the only thing that could reach him. >> i wasn't coming out in a front loader? >> no problem. i wish i had that to go back to my home. >> reporter: cars abandoned

where the water defeated them and bizarre sights, too. boats blocking a road having floated off dry dock and in to a street turned river. >> checking on you every 30 minutes, okay? >> reporter: emergency services fielded more than a thousand calls for help before even the eye of the storm has passed. nearly 2,000 by night's end. a few miles away in a community shelter one of several in the area, more than 350 people line up for food. grateful to be out of the path of sandy. >> i'm not going to worry until we get home. there's time enough to worry. >> reporter: out on the road, the rescues continued. >> we jumped on a truck to go to the structure fire because the regular engines couldn't make it down the fire and pulling out people trapped in the homes and rising in the houses. >> reporter: hasn't stopped? >> hasn't stopped, no. >> reporter: that elderly couple rescued from the side street brought to safety on an old fire

truck. edwin and dorothy. >> we were just stuck in the situation with all of this water coming in. and we had -- he's a dialysis patient. you know? today was a bad day. we didn't realize that the water was coming up, coming up. >> reporter: a happy ending in a city sorely needing good news. >> superstorm sandy pounded other areas of the east coast. south kingston, rhode island. looks different today than a few days ago. >> there used to be a road in went in front of it and then you could work straight in and then you had a beach. the beach is gone. the parking's gone. the road's gone. >> and even the most mammoth trees no match for sandy and the fierce winds. cars and homes destroyed by falling homes and responsible for many of the deaths. this video, it's just

incredible. it will be. a homeowner in new york city in the yard when that -- look at that. ah, just amazing. that large tree ripped up from the roots and of course hopefully it didn't hit anything. i can't see what's behind it but the homeowner is safe. that's all that matters, right? an unwanted archway. what that formed in front of this new jersey home uprooted by superstorm sandy. looks pretty but hard to imagine the damage underneath. mitt romney returns to the campaign trail but sandy casting a shadow. jim acosta will tell us about a change of what supporters will hear. [ woman ] ring. ring.

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joins with us the latest. >> reporter: hey there, carol. we want to show you a little of what's going on. as you mentioned about 80 to 100 homes in this area of queens completely devastated. these are the found dags here. everything was built up and everything built up essentially burned down. it is completely incinerated. that's nothing left. we have some steel, some twisted metal, burnt plastic. but for the most part, once the fires began, they burned so strongly that it just took out this entire section. it's an area of 2,000 homes altogether and what you are looking at is the fire damage. but keep in mind that there's an equal number of homes that actually sustained a lot of water damage. as we sort of walk through some of the wreckage here. you have to keep in mind that there are nails and a lot of sharp objects. this what i'm walking on right now appears to have been a walkway. that is completely gone. spoke to a fire official a little while ago and he tells me

that, in fact, they are sending out urban search and rescue teams that look and make sure no one's missing. they'll go to the homes that have been most badly impacted here in breezy point but also being told in the rockaways, as well. an insurance inspector was here and a job was to determine the cause of the blaze. he said so strong, so powerful nobody's going to know and, in fact, on some levels it kind of doesn't matter. so a lot of folks here we're seeing filter back in and trying to determine whether theirs is one of these homes, how much flood damage there is in terms of other homes along the area. remember, this storm when it hit land it hit hard and took out a lot of homes and it's fascinating to see what people are carrying out with them. one man, all he could salvage is a pyrex cooking dish. another family, they brought out a couple of mugs with them. one person simply took the

number off of his front porch, the gate. chipped it away. they plan on coming back and taking bits and pieces, whatever they can take if there's anything left so that when they come back they know exactly they have a place for those items. carol? >> deborah reporting live from queens, new york today. when we come back we'll take you to tampa, florida, to the big change in mitt romney's campaign strategy. jim acosta will fill you in. ♪ ♪ hi dad. many years from now, when the subaru is theirs... hey. you missed a spot. ...i'll look back on this day and laugh. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru.

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president obama returned to the campaign trail tomorrow after focusing the last couple of days on dealing with sandy and the aftermath. just minutes from now, republican mitt romney who also suspended some campaign events is about to appear at a rally in the all-important battleground state of florida. cnn national political

correspondent jim akos to is in tampa. do you expect to hear a softer tone of romney? >> reporter: hi there. i can't hear you right now but i assume i'm on the air. we are with mitt romney. he is here in tampa right now and on the campaign trail in a major way. a big swing across florida starting here in tampa and then the miami area and ending in jacksonville and striking a delicate balance with the president visiting fema and looking at storm damage in new jersey with chris christie who's a top romney surrogate and told by the campaign that the gop nominee striking a positive tone in their words out on the campaign trail today. that probably means we'll see what we saw yesterday. you saw that event in ohio when mitt romney set aside the stump speech and the attacks on the president and talking about storm relief effort on the east coast. encouraging people to donate to

the red cross. he was welcoming donations of supporters at that event. we have heard from the romney campaign that mitt romney himself has made a personal donation to the red cross and we'll be hearing i think more of that here on the campaign trail and speaking of surrogates, yes, the president with chris christie but in a few moments from now we expect mitt romney out here with jeb bush, former governor and senator marco rubio. those are two top surrogates and over the weekend a republican version of cannonball run if you remember that movie ofiesteryear that featured a cast of hundreds. there will be surrogates across a number of battleground states including states they see in play like pennsylvania and michigan. those are state that is previously were not considered to be in play. the romney campaign says they are in play and we have some new

battleground state polls. i'm sure you have been talking about them all morning showing the president in a cbs news/"the new york times"/quinnipiac and look for mitt romney over the next several days as this campaign ratchets back up to hit the states, as well, in addition to being here in florida and expect him to go to virginia and ohio as this race is now very, very tight. carol? >> as it has been pretty much all along. jim acosta from tampa, florida. will sandy change the election? facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll be right back. in just 15 minutes the light delicate layers add a layer of warmth to your next dinner. pillsbury grands biscuits let the making begin.

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will superstorm sandy change the election? i don't believe this changes many minds but good job governor christie for keeping the focus on helping the citizens in this time of need. from gary, i think we a